Columbia, SC, January 23, 2006: On January 1st, 2006 the Southeast Booksellers Association—one of the largest regional trade association for independent booksellers in the country, officially changed its name to The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA). The change reflects an increased commitment towards activism and advocacy for the independent bookstore in the South.

With a territory stretching from Louisiana to Virginia, SIBA’s region encompasses the entire southern quarter of the United States, making it geographically one of the largest regional trade association for booksellers in the country. Nearly 300 independent bookstores employing over 2000 booksellers are currently represented by SIBA.

Coinciding with the name change, SIBA unrolled a new logo and a new look for its website, www.sibaweb.org. Both the logo and the site are designed to show SIBA as an active organization whose members are a vital part of their communities. The website emphasizes such community-focused programs as The Southern Independent Bestseller List, the SIBA Book of the Year Awards, as well as alliances with national media like The Spoken Word Radio program from Public Radio Partnership, and other regional and national industry trade organizations.

“The reason we changed the name from an ‘association’ to an ‘alliance,’” said Wanda Jewell, the Executive Director of SIBA. “is part of our commitment to become a marketing tool for our stores. We are focusing on the retail alliances and buy local campaigns and the new logo will support that effort.”

SIBA is the sponsor of Booksignings.net, a website service that lists author appearances and book signings at independent bookstores nationwide. It also sponsors one of the largest tradeshows for booksellers in the country each September, attracting nearly 2000 attendees, presenters and exhibitors every year.